(PP) hrNetwork Conference 2015_ Employment Law & Risk Management.PPT
1. hrNETWORK Conference 2015
Employment Law & Risk Management:
You get the Employee Relations Culture
you “Deserve”
David Morgan, Morag Hutchison & Jennifer Skeoch
14 May 2015
Aberdeen
Edinburgh
Glasgow
2. Employment Law & Culture
• Rights-based culture
• Employment law regulation
• High profile – employment law in the news
• No longer an ‘unmet legal need’
• YET, Employment tribunal claims have fallen
dramatically
• Are employers ‘getting away’ with more than before?
• Flip-side is an increase in internal grievances...and a
move to mediation
3. You get the employee relations culture
you “deserve”
• Difficult decisions are more achievable in difficult
times
• BUT, how you treat your people in the hard times
sets the tone of your culture when the economy
improves
• Attrition, grievances, trade union intervention, etc.
• To what extent is organisational culture and risk
management linked to employment law?
5. Organisational Culture & Risk
• “Employee relations” cases are increasingly about
managing risk
• Employment law (regulation) underpins it, but the
employer’s approach (culture) to risk sets the tone for
the way forward
• The role of HR – moral compass?!
• It’s about more than just Policies and Procedures
8. Culture & The Employee Side
• Put yourself in the other side’s shoes
• The psychology of the situation
• The employee’s perception, aversion to risk (culture)
and approach to litigation will (also) inform the
outcome
• Which option you follow will depend on how the
employee might react and why...
10. Case Study 1 - Holiday Pay Dilemma
You are a newly appointed HR Director for a construction business.
The company has just started to break even again after the
downturn. On your first day you’re told the outgoing HRD
conducted a risk assessment as a result of the new case law on
holiday pay, which indicated a potential liability of £1,000,000 for
back pay claims. This would, in financial terms, be fatal for the
business. No grievances or claims have been raised, and the union
(which has 60% membership for all non-management staff) don’t
seem to have picked up on this yet. Your MD asks for your
recommendation:
1. Do you change the calculation method in the hope of time-barring the
historic claims?
2. If so, do you tell the workforce and/or union?
3. If so, what risks do you flag to the MD in terms of this approach?
11. Case Study 2 – A Question of “Establishment”
A high street retailer faces commercial pressure with the advent of
competition from on-line retailers and changes in buyer habits. The
company has 600 stores UK-wide and needs to close around 300
stores. Each is chosen either due to particular under-performance
or the lease cycle shortly due to expire. The average shop employs
just around 6 staff FTE. The total headcount ‘at risk’ of
redundancy is around 1,000. The restructuring must be
implemented ASAP as the company risks breaching banking
covenants. The company recognises Unite, but the membership
density is low in the shops. As HR Business Partner, you are asked
to advise:-
1. How long do you need to consult and with whom?
2. When can you start store closures and exiting staff?
3. How much is this all going to cost the company?
12. Case Study 3 – the underperforming employee
Simon is your IT Director and has been with you for 11 years. He is 53. His role was
at risk of redundancy as part of a restructure occurring eight months previously. The
IT Director’s role was not one of those selected to be made redundant but several of
Simon’s team were made redundant. Simon earns £120,000 pa.
Following the restructure, the demands on the IT department have increased and a
lack of responsiveness from the IT team is having an impact on the organisation. A
critical IT project designed to increase income is running 6 months behind schedule
but Simon appears disinterested. When asked about the performance of the team, he
blames the present situation on the restructure which he did not support. In the last six
months Simon has been absent on seven occasions, for one day only. He has reported
these absences as resulting from severe stress and anxiety.
The CEO is extremely concerned about the situation and has suggested to you that the
IT Manager, Judith, would be better placed to lead the team. You have told the CEO
there are four options:
(i)Do nothing and hope Simon resigns
(ii)Have an “informal” discussion with Simon and if things don’t improve dismiss him
(iii)Commence a performance management process with Simon and if things don’t
improve dismiss him
(iv)Have a “protected conversation” with Simon and enter into a Settlement
Agreement
1.Which option are you going to go for and why?
2.What do you estimate the cost of that option to be?
